Federal Judge Approves Scaled-Down Florida Voter Purge.

Source: NYT/reuters

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a challenge to Florida's recent voter purge efforts, clearing the way for the removal of about 200 suspected non-U.S. citizens from state voter rolls before the November 6 presidential election.

District Judge William Zloch dismissed the remaining challenges from voter advocacy groups, including the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights and the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

The plaintiffs had contended Florida's purge efforts violated the National Voter Registration Act, or NVRA, and a federal law against removing voters within 90 days of an election, except under certain special circumstances.

Florida, which is closely divided between Democrats and Republicans, is an important electoral battleground state.

Zloch's ruling affects 198 people believed to be non-U.S. citizens based on a Department of Homeland Security citizenship database. An earlier purge list, containing more than 2,600 names, was cut back sharply due to errors.